Throughout history, many sports have been played on an ice surface, dating back as early as the Middle Ages. Modern ice hockey is considered to have evolved from outdoor stick-and-ball games adapted to the icy conditions of Canada in the 19th century, and the origin of the present National Hockey League (NHL) dates back to 1917. The NHL expanded into the United States in 1924, and by 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario, Quebec, the Great Lakes Region and the North Eastern United States. During the great depression, the NHL was reduced to six teams (now referred to as the “original six”), and by 1979, with the folding of the World Hockey Association (WHA), the NHL expanded to 21 teams. Today, ice hockey is played on six continents, is an Olympic sport, and, worldwide is the most popular game played on ice.
Over the history of the sport, ice hockey equipment has continually advanced. For example, in the early days, ice hockey sticks were made from hardwoods, such as maple and ash. The 1940's saw the introduction of laminated sticks, with layers of wood glued together to create a more flexible and durable design, and in the 1960's, companies began adding an additional lamination of synthetic compounds (such as fiberglass) to increase strength and durability. In the 1980's, manufacturers began experimenting with lightweight steel alloys, and introduced a single piece all aluminum stick. The aluminum stick was quickly replaced by a stick with an aluminum shaft and a removable wooden blade, which became very popular in the 1980's and early 1990's. In recent years, the manufacture of ice hockey sticks has largely moved to more advanced composite materials (such as fiberglass and carbon fiber), with some experimentation with materials such as Kevlar.
In ice hockey, the goaltender or goalie is the player who defends against the opposing team scoring by preventing or blocking shots of the puck by the opposing team from entering the net or goal. The goaltender uses a slightly modified stick as compared with the other players. The lower part of the shaft of the goalie stick and the blade are wider than other player sticks.
FIG. 1 illustrates a traditional ice hockey goalie stick 100. The goalie stick 100 includes a shaft 102 with a relatively narrow rectangular cross-sectional shape that resembles the shaft of a regular player stick. As with regular player sticks, the goaltender will typically tape the top of the shaft 102 of the goalie stick 100 with grip tape, forming a handle 108 and a knob 110. The goalie stick 100 also includes a paddle 104 that extends from the shaft 102. As illustrated, the paddle 104 is significantly wider than the shaft 102 (as much as 3-5 times wider than the shaft), and, while also generally rectangular in cross-sectional shape, is relatively flat with a curved face. Finally, the goalie stick 100 includes a blade 106 that extends from the paddle 104 at a heel 112 of the goalie stick 100 to a toe 114 of the goalie stick 100. The blade 106, which is the part of the stick that is generally placed along the ice and typically engages the puck, extends from the paddle 104 at an angle. The blade 106 takes on a similar shape to the paddle 104 (generally rectangular and flat in cross-section), but is shorter and typically curved with the concave surface facing the direction of play (the puck is generally played using the concave surface of the blade 106). Current goalie sticks are typically made from wood reinforced on the outside with woven fibers of glass, carbon fiber and/or Kevlar and bound to the surface with a resin (e.g., an epoxy resin), or similar composite materials as used for regular player sticks.
FIG. 2A illustrates the typical body and stick positioning of a goaltender during a typical block or save referred to as a butterfly save. The goaltender holds the goalie stick 200 in the blocker hand, which is the hand on which the blocker glove 216 is worn for deflecting pucks shot to that side of the net. On the other hand, the goaltender wears a catching glove 218 for catching pucks shot to that side of the net. A right-handed goaltender will typically wear the blocker on (and hold the goalie stick with) the right hand and the glove on the left, whereas a left-handed goaltender will typically do the reverse. The stick is generally held with the blade 206 on the ice, and the blade is typically used to block and deflect pucks shot at the net along the ice.
FIG. 2B illustrates the positioning of the goaltender's hand, within the blocker glove 216, while holding the goalie stick 200. Typically, the goaltender will grip the goalie stick 200 at the point where the shaft 202 meets the paddle 204. The goalie stick is generally gripped with a number of fingers and the thumb 212 wrapped around the shaft 202. Further, depending on the preference of the goaltender, either the index finger or the index and middle fingers are held over the face of the paddle 204 for stability (shown in FIG. 2B as only the index finger 214, with the other three fingers 212 wrapped around the shaft 202 along with the thumb (not shown)). The goaltender generally maneuvers the goalie stick utilizing the grip of the fingers 212 and thumb 214 around the shaft 204, and additional maneuverability and control are achieved via the one or two fingers 214 held over the face of the paddle 204 as discussed herein.
As ice hockey is played on an ice surface, aside from sports with artificial propulsion such as motor sports, it represents one of the fastest sports (if not the fastest sport) played today. For example, in the NHL, players reach skating speeds of over 20 miles per hour (mph). Further, in the NHL, the average passing speed of the puck from player to player is around 30 to 60 mph. Shots on goal reach even higher speeds. When the face of the stick blade strikes the puck, the player rolls his wrists and shifts his weight so that the energy stored in the stick is released through the puck. Further, an average wrist shot can reach speeds of 50-70 mph, with an exceptional wrist shot reaching upwards of 80 mph. A wrist shot represents a shot where the arms (predominantly wrist and forearm muscles), along with the lower body muscles, are used to fling or propel the puck towards the net. An average slapshot, on the other hand, can reach speeds of 70-90 mph, with upper bounds of over 100 mph. For example, former NHL great Bobby Hull is credited with the hardest slapshot on record, clocked on one occasion at a speed of 118.3 mph. A slapshot involves a wind up raising the hockey stick to shoulder height or more, a fast lowering of the stick to the ice and striking of the ice (slap) slightly behind the puck, using momentum and weight to bend the stick (storing energy in it like a spring), and a follow through. The bending of the stick results in the amazing speed of a slapshot (like a bow and arrow), with the flex of the stick transferring its energy to the puck.
Accordingly, when the immense speed and energy of such hockey shots strike the goaltender's stick, the energy of the puck is transferred to the goalie stick. Considering that the typical hockey puck consists of a disk of vulcanized rubber, weighing anywhere from 5-8 ounces (typically 6 ounces), and travelling at speeds of upwards of over 100 mph, that amounts to a significant amount of energy transferred to the goalie stick, when the goaltender makes a save with the blade 206 of the goalie stick 200. Further, the blade of the goalie stick acts like a lever, so when the puck strikes the stick, the energy of the puck transfers to the blade 206, resulting in a twisting force on the shaft of the stick in the goaltender's hand. The goaltender resists this twisting force on the goalie stick using the fingers 212 and 214 and thumb wrapped around the shaft 202 and predominantly with the one or two fingers 214 held over the face of the paddle 204. As would be understandable, such an immense force transferred to the goalie stick by the puck can require significant hand strength, and be significantly difficult to control via one or two fingers over the paddle 204 of the goalie stick 200. Moreover, general maneuverability is also somewhat difficult considering the size and weight of the goalie stick, and the fact that only one or two fingers over the paddle are used to maneuver and position the blade of the stick in preparation for blocking shots.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved goalie stick that can help the grip and control of the stick by the goaltender when maneuvering the stick and blocking shots.